Hello,
Im back on my blog after a long long time , had taken time off for myself , bored of forums now , thought i ll put up a review my experience with my sports tourer .
Am i happy with the bike still ?
A definite yes ,
The views are same as my 11 months report , will keep it short by telling you things that i haven told before.
Had to change the rear disc pads at 16500kms , it cost about 1115 INR oly.
Changed the spark plug to NGK platinum CR8EGP - Rs 140.
Air filter at 17000kms- Rs 237
Need to change the oil filter sometime soon.
I have been hunting for the tires for the last 4 months , and it has been a pain. MRF is on strike and this tire size and pattern is made only for this particular bike only.
Searched in Hyd, Chennai, Salem , Blr to no luck.
Thanks to shreyas , i managed to find a set of tires in mysore.
Bangalore wheels had a rear tire and they quoted me 3000rs , its like buying in black.
Denied their generous offer and headed to mysore to get my tire .
1100 front and 1800 rs for the rear.
The grip is phenomenal after the change .
The old tires lasted about 21500kms , i could have pushed it for a few thousand kms , but it was too soft and prone to punctures.
There has been no problem with chain even though its an open chain , its just regular maintainence that matters.I lube every now and then and get it washed regularly.
I had been to Goa recently and doing 700kms with this baby super sport will make you forget the kms.
It doesn have the torque like the zma , to comfortably pull from a lower gear , but nowhere will it give a chance to the zma to run away either. Cruising at 100 all day long and getting a mileage of 43-45 kmph on the highway is a breeze on this bike.
Im totally in love with the suspension , after getting used to this , all other bikes feel so so soft and doesn give me the confidence on highways.
one lesson learnt-
had fixed another small horn for testing purpose , It worked well without draining the battery . at one point , it blew out my horn switch . The load was too much.Had to take a HH splendor spring and fix it to work.
Moral of the story - Stick to stock horn.
The tappets need regular adjustment after high speed runs of 4000+kms , they keep getting loose.
P220 dtsi is way faster in 0-100 kmph sprint. Its just an fyi for the guys who still in a dilemna about p220 or r15 .
Iv been using twin HID's for the past one year and haven't faced any sort of battery drain problems with a 3.5mAH .
No problem with cold starts ever , How ever cold its just one push of the starter button . no issues ever. Fi works brilliantly.
The ground clearance is also never a problem , on bad roads or off roading , managed to surprise me everytime . Never the under belly has taken a hit.
Another compliment is to the tires , behaves amazingly well in the rain and still allows u to take corners at decent speeds. MRF deserves a pat for this .
Thats about it for now.
Santa
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Bajaj Pulsar 220 dts-I
Bajaj Pulsar 220 dts-I – Can we call it fastest Indian ?
We had a meet on Diwali to test ride the new 09 220 dts-i. We also had an earlier version of the same bike from bajaj to do a comparo. Here what we feel about the bike.
Bike-bajaj pulsar 220 dts-i (2009)
Key features-21 ps , air cooled , secondary oil cooled.
2 valve, carburetted, dual discs.
It was after a long time that I really got my hands on a pulsar, this time on the fastest pulsar till date? Headed out to NICE road, all geared up. I start the bike and I’m welcomed with the “typical” pulsar sound. I take it easy initially to get familiar with the bike. The seating position is pretty comfortable for even a tall person. The split handle bars are comfortable, I was wearing knee guards and dint have a problem with it touching the tank. I slot it into first gear and off I go. The torque is very evident from the word go , and can be felt in any gear at almost any RPM .It pulls effortlessly from as low as 2000rpm even on a little higher gear , this helps you save that extra shift down .0-60kmph comes up in about 4-5 seconds roughly , and it reaches a ton in about 12-13 seconds. All of these speeds are Speedo indicated and necessarily not very accurate.
The Fi version feels more aggressive and fun to ride in the lower range and till about 80 . The response is more linear. Post 80kmph and the 220 dts-I makes its presence felt . What got me surprised was the 220 dts-I doing a ton at a little over 6200rpm .The dts-I has a teeth drop on the lower sprocket .The Fi has a 37 teeth rear , while the carb version sports a 36 rear sprocket. That’s like a boon if your into touring , keep it at a ton all day long and it wont complain , and has got reserve power if given the stick . I managed to do about 135 kmph speedo read sitting upright , crouched and you gain about 10-12 “bajaj”kmph .
The speedo on the DTS-I seemed very optimistic , most of the FI owners also felt that there was some error . I too did feel it on a straight where the fi dint move over 108 kmph , and the dtsi showed about 116kmph .Anyways that shouldn’t be a bother.
The most improved part on the bike is the Transmission, took a little time for me to digest that its really made by BAJAJ themselves. It’s a whole lot improved over any of the previous bikes from the bajaj stable , it even felt better than the DTS-FI . Really good job done there by Bajaj. I dint encounter a false neutral even once even under harsh riding conditions , did a few drag runs and even then the gearbox and clutch was brilliant. No missing-shifts , no jerks .The vibrations are evident on the foot pegs post 100kmph .The fairing vibrations are minimal on this one. Didn’t have rattling noises yet.
To complement the lovely acceleration and crazy torque , to slow the “fastest Indian “ ,it’s got dual discs that works really well compared to the older FI. The braking distance is less and gives you the confidence to push that extra little bit. The front disc now comes with a steel braided brake hose unlike the conventional brake hose. Though the disc size remains the same on both the bikes , the stopping ability is better on the DTS-i. The newer softer tyre compound could also be the reason for the added advantage.
The headlights on the 220 were one of the best on any Indian bike, they remain the same It sports a projector low beam and an ellipsoidal high beam, many of the owners had the same complaints that the focusing needs adjustment on the high beam .The headlight is DC and its powered by a 12v 9AH Maintenance free battery. There is no kick starter on this bike, Just make sure to have your battery in top condition. You wouldn’t want to push the Fastest Indian .
Over to the carburettor, The bike is fed through a 32 mm ucal CV that helps the fastest Indian produce that extra ps over the FI .The addition of the carb has helped bajaj reduce the overall cost by a whopping 10k INR .I personally dint like the auto choke feature , the idling seemed to be on a slightly higher side .few owners complained of cold start problems. Tuning should solve the problem I suppose.
The best value add of the carb is the mileage that it returns , The bike returns an astonishing 45+kmpl on the highway to a litre of fuel ,as claimed by many people. Under normal city riding conditions it returns about 35-40kmpl , which seems good for the power offered.
The handling is something that is nothing to ride home about ,on a straight line , the bike is a rocket , eats up any of the other Indian bikes , when you throw it into a corner and you see its all over the place , the tires are better than FI , but it’s the chassis and the suspension that do not help you even a little bit .The front 37 mm forks take a nose dive on every possible occasion , the rear suspension is no better , its too soft for my liking , the set up is ok for a person who rides in the city with office to home riding .If you need to ride it on other terrains, needs to be adjusted as per need.
The mirrors are really bad for usage, This definitely needs a change. Few owners change it to RTR’s mirrors and say the view is much better.
The 220 dts-i has the power , torque to take you to any terrain , or the highway if you have the tourer bug in you .
My verdict—
If you have 82k with you and want a Value for money package, look no further. Head to a nearest Pro biking showroom and book one for yourself. The extra money can be spent on good riding gear. The refinement level has improved a lot compared, but not to the Honda level .If you don’t mind a little compromise/adjustment then I don’t see any reason not to buy the “fastest Indian”.
The bike actually makes good power , the problem is that the weight of the parts used are too much , Shave off about 10-15kgs and see how the bike performs . hope they do something like that in the near future .
Santa
We had a meet on Diwali to test ride the new 09 220 dts-i. We also had an earlier version of the same bike from bajaj to do a comparo. Here what we feel about the bike.
Bike-bajaj pulsar 220 dts-i (2009)
Key features-21 ps , air cooled , secondary oil cooled.
2 valve, carburetted, dual discs.
It was after a long time that I really got my hands on a pulsar, this time on the fastest pulsar till date? Headed out to NICE road, all geared up. I start the bike and I’m welcomed with the “typical” pulsar sound. I take it easy initially to get familiar with the bike. The seating position is pretty comfortable for even a tall person. The split handle bars are comfortable, I was wearing knee guards and dint have a problem with it touching the tank. I slot it into first gear and off I go. The torque is very evident from the word go , and can be felt in any gear at almost any RPM .It pulls effortlessly from as low as 2000rpm even on a little higher gear , this helps you save that extra shift down .0-60kmph comes up in about 4-5 seconds roughly , and it reaches a ton in about 12-13 seconds. All of these speeds are Speedo indicated and necessarily not very accurate.
The Fi version feels more aggressive and fun to ride in the lower range and till about 80 . The response is more linear. Post 80kmph and the 220 dts-I makes its presence felt . What got me surprised was the 220 dts-I doing a ton at a little over 6200rpm .The dts-I has a teeth drop on the lower sprocket .The Fi has a 37 teeth rear , while the carb version sports a 36 rear sprocket. That’s like a boon if your into touring , keep it at a ton all day long and it wont complain , and has got reserve power if given the stick . I managed to do about 135 kmph speedo read sitting upright , crouched and you gain about 10-12 “bajaj”kmph .
The speedo on the DTS-I seemed very optimistic , most of the FI owners also felt that there was some error . I too did feel it on a straight where the fi dint move over 108 kmph , and the dtsi showed about 116kmph .Anyways that shouldn’t be a bother.
The most improved part on the bike is the Transmission, took a little time for me to digest that its really made by BAJAJ themselves. It’s a whole lot improved over any of the previous bikes from the bajaj stable , it even felt better than the DTS-FI . Really good job done there by Bajaj. I dint encounter a false neutral even once even under harsh riding conditions , did a few drag runs and even then the gearbox and clutch was brilliant. No missing-shifts , no jerks .The vibrations are evident on the foot pegs post 100kmph .The fairing vibrations are minimal on this one. Didn’t have rattling noises yet.
To complement the lovely acceleration and crazy torque , to slow the “fastest Indian “ ,it’s got dual discs that works really well compared to the older FI. The braking distance is less and gives you the confidence to push that extra little bit. The front disc now comes with a steel braided brake hose unlike the conventional brake hose. Though the disc size remains the same on both the bikes , the stopping ability is better on the DTS-i. The newer softer tyre compound could also be the reason for the added advantage.
The headlights on the 220 were one of the best on any Indian bike, they remain the same It sports a projector low beam and an ellipsoidal high beam, many of the owners had the same complaints that the focusing needs adjustment on the high beam .The headlight is DC and its powered by a 12v 9AH Maintenance free battery. There is no kick starter on this bike, Just make sure to have your battery in top condition. You wouldn’t want to push the Fastest Indian .
Over to the carburettor, The bike is fed through a 32 mm ucal CV that helps the fastest Indian produce that extra ps over the FI .The addition of the carb has helped bajaj reduce the overall cost by a whopping 10k INR .I personally dint like the auto choke feature , the idling seemed to be on a slightly higher side .few owners complained of cold start problems. Tuning should solve the problem I suppose.
The best value add of the carb is the mileage that it returns , The bike returns an astonishing 45+kmpl on the highway to a litre of fuel ,as claimed by many people. Under normal city riding conditions it returns about 35-40kmpl , which seems good for the power offered.
The handling is something that is nothing to ride home about ,on a straight line , the bike is a rocket , eats up any of the other Indian bikes , when you throw it into a corner and you see its all over the place , the tires are better than FI , but it’s the chassis and the suspension that do not help you even a little bit .The front 37 mm forks take a nose dive on every possible occasion , the rear suspension is no better , its too soft for my liking , the set up is ok for a person who rides in the city with office to home riding .If you need to ride it on other terrains, needs to be adjusted as per need.
The mirrors are really bad for usage, This definitely needs a change. Few owners change it to RTR’s mirrors and say the view is much better.
The 220 dts-i has the power , torque to take you to any terrain , or the highway if you have the tourer bug in you .
My verdict—
If you have 82k with you and want a Value for money package, look no further. Head to a nearest Pro biking showroom and book one for yourself. The extra money can be spent on good riding gear. The refinement level has improved a lot compared, but not to the Honda level .If you don’t mind a little compromise/adjustment then I don’t see any reason not to buy the “fastest Indian”.
The bike actually makes good power , the problem is that the weight of the parts used are too much , Shave off about 10-15kgs and see how the bike performs . hope they do something like that in the near future .
Santa
Thursday, July 09, 2009
11 month/15,000kms ride report of r15
Hi
Im back with an update on my bike
Total Kms Done:15000 in 11 months
Total Services: Free- 6
Amount Spent on Service:
1st Service -Rs200(oil)/+ [service]
2nd Service- Rs 200 (oil)/+ [service]+cleaned FI injectors + got AFR adjusted.
3rd Service- Rs 200(oil)/- [service]
4th Service- Rs 200/+ [Oil + service]
5th Service- Rs 200/- [oil+service]
6th Service - Rs 200[oil+pacer's bakwaas service]
Oil used is Yamalube 20w40 mineral oil . No synthetic oil used till date.
Maintainence opening-rs 1000(clutch bell re-setting + cone set overhauling + swingarm overhauling)
Chain lube done by myself regularly
i use tribocor tc40
used 2 cans till now.each can rs 300.
I have the coolant castrol 100rs for half litre.I keep checking every 15 days.
Spent on Spares: Rs. 686 [Front disc pad in 6th service]
Rs. 450 *1 [Oil Filter]
Rs. 237 [Air Filter]
Rs 140 (spark plug)NGK Platinum CR8EGP
Rs 300(puncture repair kit)
------------------------------------------------
Approximate Running cost
------------------------------------------------
Total spent on Services and Spares: 3000Rs------------------------------------------------
I am a tourer. Minimum city riding. max lets say 1000kms of city riding in 15000kms.
Engine: [Rating: ****]
Initially i never wanted this tiny bike. I always wanted a tourer.
There was none. Bought it cos i had to dispose old bike.
U fall in love with the engine oly after u use it for a long time, No love @ first few rides with this.
After 5000kms , u know what u have missed all there years on a bike.
Great engine for a 150 cc. never felt i had downgraded from a 200cc.
Keep it at 9k rpm whole day n it still will not crib.
No drop in oil level , not even 50 ml.
U dont have to think of anythin @ the back of ur mind , be it over heating to noise to vibes.
Build: [Rating: ***]
Delta box rocks.
Rigid ,Forgiving. Takes any terrain, undulations on the road and doesn throw u off balance. u do not need 2 wrestle with it.
The flex is minimum.
The plastic's too are great , easy 2 dismantle , no vibes or noises or rattling , no panel gaps absolutely anywhere. Iv had no rusting nowhere.
Gearbox: [ Rating: *****]
Flawless. Its a yam. Respect honda's and yam here.Takes a lot of abuse.
Shows that u dont need "imported" oil to get a gears to shift better.
No slippage from the clutch
Performance: [ Rating: ****1/2]
iT is a 150 cc bike , with a power of a 200 cc. Thats how i put it.
Its not faster than 220 or zma. But defintely more confidence giving in every other aspect. It makes ur life easier when u ride it. there's not been once that iv felt that this is the limit of the bike and i need to call it quit . i mean be it in cornering or braking .
Ride & Handling:[Rating:*****]
Ride- the zma is better and comfy, nthn really great for touring,
handling is what makes u forget the 1st line.:-D
No comparison here in this and next two segments.
Breaking: [Rating:*****]
Yam's always have had amazing breaks .
I dont know how ppl eat up disc pads in like 3000kms ??
mine is 15k kms and im still running on stock.
Tyres: [Rating: ****]
excellent in dry n rain, suck in slush.
U are blessed with punctures very frequently.That soft.
will last till 23k kms for sure for me.I see no sign of loss in tread.
Electrical: [Rating: ****]
Np at al. i run 2 chinese HID. used it all nyt . NP
Mileage:
In City - 40+ kmpl
Highway- 38+ kmpl
Service.5 stars)
Yam sux yam sux yam sux yam sux yam sux yam sux
Guys at BAngalore wheels are great.they do a gr8 job . other than that. blr chennai and hyd where all iv gone. there are fit to service oly alba 106.
PS.another imp thing.
This bike is highly aero sensitive.even 2 psi inc or dec in air pressure and ur handling is like "i dont need 2 mention the bike's name here"
saddle bags are a big no no while touring.
np with running low petrol in tank. no pblm like rtr fi i mean jerking or switching off.
no pblm of changing fuel filter like 220.
Bike has torque of 15Nm. which is same as the 180 dtsi. but since it is spread over 6 gears . u do not get the feel as much as the pulsars.
Totally worth the package ,main thing is that u get to know what uv been missing all these years riding other bikes.This bike makes ur riding enjoyable, easy and more confidence.
Shows that a bike doesn not mean it needs to have the best top speed or best handling or suspension.
Its the combination of all these that makes me get a smile on my face after every ride.
To me the next ride is more about handling and breaking rather than just one feature of getting there faster. Power is nothing without control.
I like the r15 now more than ever.
I did have a clutch bell noise at(14200kms)after my 600km sprint to hyd in about 7hrs.
got that rectified and it back to stock.
Thx for ur time.
Santa
Im back with an update on my bike
Total Kms Done:15000 in 11 months
Total Services: Free- 6
Amount Spent on Service:
1st Service -Rs200(oil)/+ [service]
2nd Service- Rs 200 (oil)/+ [service]+cleaned FI injectors + got AFR adjusted.
3rd Service- Rs 200(oil)/- [service]
4th Service- Rs 200/+ [Oil + service]
5th Service- Rs 200/- [oil+service]
6th Service - Rs 200[oil+pacer's bakwaas service]
Oil used is Yamalube 20w40 mineral oil . No synthetic oil used till date.
Maintainence opening-rs 1000(clutch bell re-setting + cone set overhauling + swingarm overhauling)
Chain lube done by myself regularly
i use tribocor tc40
used 2 cans till now.each can rs 300.
I have the coolant castrol 100rs for half litre.I keep checking every 15 days.
Spent on Spares: Rs. 686 [Front disc pad in 6th service]
Rs. 450 *1 [Oil Filter]
Rs. 237 [Air Filter]
Rs 140 (spark plug)NGK Platinum CR8EGP
Rs 300(puncture repair kit)
------------------------------------------------
Approximate Running cost
------------------------------------------------
Total spent on Services and Spares: 3000Rs------------------------------------------------
I am a tourer. Minimum city riding. max lets say 1000kms of city riding in 15000kms.
Engine: [Rating: ****]
Initially i never wanted this tiny bike. I always wanted a tourer.
There was none. Bought it cos i had to dispose old bike.
U fall in love with the engine oly after u use it for a long time, No love @ first few rides with this.
After 5000kms , u know what u have missed all there years on a bike.
Great engine for a 150 cc. never felt i had downgraded from a 200cc.
Keep it at 9k rpm whole day n it still will not crib.
No drop in oil level , not even 50 ml.
U dont have to think of anythin @ the back of ur mind , be it over heating to noise to vibes.
Build: [Rating: ***]
Delta box rocks.
Rigid ,Forgiving. Takes any terrain, undulations on the road and doesn throw u off balance. u do not need 2 wrestle with it.
The flex is minimum.
The plastic's too are great , easy 2 dismantle , no vibes or noises or rattling , no panel gaps absolutely anywhere. Iv had no rusting nowhere.
Gearbox: [ Rating: *****]
Flawless. Its a yam. Respect honda's and yam here.Takes a lot of abuse.
Shows that u dont need "imported" oil to get a gears to shift better.
No slippage from the clutch
Performance: [ Rating: ****1/2]
iT is a 150 cc bike , with a power of a 200 cc. Thats how i put it.
Its not faster than 220 or zma. But defintely more confidence giving in every other aspect. It makes ur life easier when u ride it. there's not been once that iv felt that this is the limit of the bike and i need to call it quit . i mean be it in cornering or braking .
Ride & Handling:[Rating:*****]
Ride- the zma is better and comfy, nthn really great for touring,
handling is what makes u forget the 1st line.:-D
No comparison here in this and next two segments.
Breaking: [Rating:*****]
Yam's always have had amazing breaks .
I dont know how ppl eat up disc pads in like 3000kms ??
mine is 15k kms and im still running on stock.
Tyres: [Rating: ****]
excellent in dry n rain, suck in slush.
U are blessed with punctures very frequently.That soft.
will last till 23k kms for sure for me.I see no sign of loss in tread.
Electrical: [Rating: ****]
Np at al. i run 2 chinese HID. used it all nyt . NP
Mileage:
In City - 40+ kmpl
Highway- 38+ kmpl
Service.5 stars)
Yam sux yam sux yam sux yam sux yam sux yam sux
Guys at BAngalore wheels are great.they do a gr8 job . other than that. blr chennai and hyd where all iv gone. there are fit to service oly alba 106.
PS.another imp thing.
This bike is highly aero sensitive.even 2 psi inc or dec in air pressure and ur handling is like "i dont need 2 mention the bike's name here"
saddle bags are a big no no while touring.
np with running low petrol in tank. no pblm like rtr fi i mean jerking or switching off.
no pblm of changing fuel filter like 220.
Bike has torque of 15Nm. which is same as the 180 dtsi. but since it is spread over 6 gears . u do not get the feel as much as the pulsars.
Totally worth the package ,main thing is that u get to know what uv been missing all these years riding other bikes.This bike makes ur riding enjoyable, easy and more confidence.
Shows that a bike doesn not mean it needs to have the best top speed or best handling or suspension.
Its the combination of all these that makes me get a smile on my face after every ride.
To me the next ride is more about handling and breaking rather than just one feature of getting there faster. Power is nothing without control.
I like the r15 now more than ever.
I did have a clutch bell noise at(14200kms)after my 600km sprint to hyd in about 7hrs.
got that rectified and it back to stock.
Thx for ur time.
Santa
Friday, April 10, 2009
No more clicks
Hi all,
There is not going to be any pics from my side for a while from now on.
Santoosh
There is not going to be any pics from my side for a while from now on.
Santoosh
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Journey to the US 7th March 09
Hello guys,its been long since iv put up some text on the blog.
Few days to leave to the US and I still had’n packed anything .
No time , was busy with office , I had my sis , dad and gf doing all the packing for me.
And I was doing the santa claus job of carrying ppl’s goodie to the US.
With having had the deliveries of all eatable and etc etc done to my place, and packed them in such a way that its compact and don’t spill.I was all set to go.
Had done my clothes shopping a week back, picked up a few formals , shoes and ..thats it12k blown.
Got two suitcases from my Uncle, and I had my leather hand bag and my laptop.
Took a taxi 2 airport , Dad , Sis and Me.
Mrugesh, Harish and Younus joined me at the airport and Harish did gimme a few tips bout what could happen at the airport .
Weighed the bags for checkin , One was 21kg and another was 19kgs ,
In that my luggage was only about 10 kgs max . Rest all were others.
I carried minimal food items , Coz I wanna eat here. I wont get bored nor I miss namma South Indian Oota.
When here ,eat what’s here, drink whats here. That’s my concept.
Earning in Dollars , spend in dollars , don’t spend with rupee in mind.
Iv seen ppl go to the US and then become very good in Multiplication…
That too with only one number – 50 ..
I don’t wanna be that.
Back to BIAL
Cheking in I had already done online , then oly thing left was baggage ,
Got rid of it , then filled immigration form , Stampd , got my camera and laptop Declared at Indian customs and then the waiting job.
320am was my flight..
With me were Rakesh , my team lead , and Sathesh my colleague. Alll of us are from the same team at office .
Boarded the flight ,Boeing 747-400.
Its like a Volvo bus with 310 ppl on it ., The plane is huge , but the economy class is cramped for room.
We were taxi ing on the run way , I loved the thrust of the Rolls Royce engine of the 747-400. Amazing it is. Crazy. In love with it.
From then was a boring 9 hrs flight to Frankfurt, Germany
Slept for a few hours after take off.Woke up after 2 hrs of so and then opened the window and it was still dark .
Was listening to some hindi channel that they had.Same songs , that irritated me even more.
We were flying at 38200ft and at a speed of 952kmph constantly.
Experienced a little air turbulence for sometime. Nice exp…
Air hostesses are all boring in Lufthansa. 2 n ½ times my age. :-P
We passed Pakistan and over Turkey and then came out my camera , wow wow What amazing Landscape I must say.
Sea, Ice, Mountains and Greenery … I was loving it .
To my luck it was clear skies and my cam ROXXXXXXXXXXXX..
Snow capped mountains are a treat to the eyes.
Went around the flight , took some pics and then went into business and First class ,
That is what I call luxury.
U wont hear any sound at all. Nothing . No engines heard.
Economy class is like BUS..Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The turbine sound all through.
Ok its recession timeTime 2 shut up.
--------------------------------------- Frankfurt….
Then we reached Frankfurt at 845am local time.
Next flight was at 1015 am.
We got down from the flight and the weather at Frankfurt was mind blowing. Chill and different. The air is so damn nice.
We got into the Mercedes Benz Buses to go to the Terminal .
I liked this bus more than that stupid winged Boeing 747 Bus.
Ran from one end to the other , took the train also.
Check in again. Remove belt , walk through..
All clean
Boarded another flight , to Dallas Fortworth . Airbus A340-300
It’s a smaller flight and its 11n half of torture.
No individual entertainment in Lufthansa economy class
Emirates I miss u :-P
We passed Nederlands and then into Greenland , it has one of the best views ever in the world.
White white white…
Or blue blue blue.
Then I saw another plane flyin next 2 ours….Traffic increases here also.
God what happening….
The full flight was eat , pic , walk and repeat…….
We reached Dallas at 230pm DST and had immigration with few qns asked and then collect baggage and the outside I see my cousin Ashok waiting for me. Prithvi his friend had also come along.
He’s driven down from Houston to FW all the way to meet me.. That was so so nice,
I drove down in their car to my hotel and checked in and freshened up.
I wasn’t tired at all. Went to meet another friend who stays hardly a mile away from my hotel.
Spent the evening at their place and the back to my room , they insisted on driving bk 2 houston the same nyt.. and they did…
This was Just the 1st day…..
More to come-----
Few days to leave to the US and I still had’n packed anything .
No time , was busy with office , I had my sis , dad and gf doing all the packing for me.
And I was doing the santa claus job of carrying ppl’s goodie to the US.
With having had the deliveries of all eatable and etc etc done to my place, and packed them in such a way that its compact and don’t spill.I was all set to go.
Had done my clothes shopping a week back, picked up a few formals , shoes and ..thats it12k blown.
Got two suitcases from my Uncle, and I had my leather hand bag and my laptop.
Took a taxi 2 airport , Dad , Sis and Me.
Mrugesh, Harish and Younus joined me at the airport and Harish did gimme a few tips bout what could happen at the airport .
Weighed the bags for checkin , One was 21kg and another was 19kgs ,
In that my luggage was only about 10 kgs max . Rest all were others.
I carried minimal food items , Coz I wanna eat here. I wont get bored nor I miss namma South Indian Oota.
When here ,eat what’s here, drink whats here. That’s my concept.
Earning in Dollars , spend in dollars , don’t spend with rupee in mind.
Iv seen ppl go to the US and then become very good in Multiplication…
That too with only one number – 50 ..
I don’t wanna be that.
Back to BIAL
Cheking in I had already done online , then oly thing left was baggage ,
Got rid of it , then filled immigration form , Stampd , got my camera and laptop Declared at Indian customs and then the waiting job.
320am was my flight..
With me were Rakesh , my team lead , and Sathesh my colleague. Alll of us are from the same team at office .
Boarded the flight ,Boeing 747-400.
Its like a Volvo bus with 310 ppl on it ., The plane is huge , but the economy class is cramped for room.
We were taxi ing on the run way , I loved the thrust of the Rolls Royce engine of the 747-400. Amazing it is. Crazy. In love with it.
From then was a boring 9 hrs flight to Frankfurt, Germany
Slept for a few hours after take off.Woke up after 2 hrs of so and then opened the window and it was still dark .
Was listening to some hindi channel that they had.Same songs , that irritated me even more.
We were flying at 38200ft and at a speed of 952kmph constantly.
Experienced a little air turbulence for sometime. Nice exp…
Air hostesses are all boring in Lufthansa. 2 n ½ times my age. :-P
We passed Pakistan and over Turkey and then came out my camera , wow wow What amazing Landscape I must say.
Sea, Ice, Mountains and Greenery … I was loving it .
To my luck it was clear skies and my cam ROXXXXXXXXXXXX..
Snow capped mountains are a treat to the eyes.
Went around the flight , took some pics and then went into business and First class ,
That is what I call luxury.
U wont hear any sound at all. Nothing . No engines heard.
Economy class is like BUS..Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The turbine sound all through.
Ok its recession timeTime 2 shut up.
--------------------------------------- Frankfurt….
Then we reached Frankfurt at 845am local time.
Next flight was at 1015 am.
We got down from the flight and the weather at Frankfurt was mind blowing. Chill and different. The air is so damn nice.
We got into the Mercedes Benz Buses to go to the Terminal .
I liked this bus more than that stupid winged Boeing 747 Bus.
Ran from one end to the other , took the train also.
Check in again. Remove belt , walk through..
All clean
Boarded another flight , to Dallas Fortworth . Airbus A340-300
It’s a smaller flight and its 11n half of torture.
No individual entertainment in Lufthansa economy class
Emirates I miss u :-P
We passed Nederlands and then into Greenland , it has one of the best views ever in the world.
White white white…
Or blue blue blue.
Then I saw another plane flyin next 2 ours….Traffic increases here also.
God what happening….
The full flight was eat , pic , walk and repeat…….
We reached Dallas at 230pm DST and had immigration with few qns asked and then collect baggage and the outside I see my cousin Ashok waiting for me. Prithvi his friend had also come along.
He’s driven down from Houston to FW all the way to meet me.. That was so so nice,
I drove down in their car to my hotel and checked in and freshened up.
I wasn’t tired at all. Went to meet another friend who stays hardly a mile away from my hotel.
Spent the evening at their place and the back to my room , they insisted on driving bk 2 houston the same nyt.. and they did…
This was Just the 1st day…..
More to come-----
Friday, October 10, 2008
Touring on the R15
October 1st week-Planned 5 day ride with BN(Bike Nomads)
It was two months since i got the bike and hadn't done a long trip,
Then came the ride to Shimoga-Sagar-Sigandur-Jog-Kollur-Maravanthe-Udupi-Mangalore-Bangalore.
Riders & their Ride
Vasanth(05 Karizma)
Diwakar(08- Karizma)
Sachin(05-P150)
Sai(07-Thunderbird)
Santoosh(08-R15)
From Mangalore
Sujay(07-P200)
Rajat(07-Dio)
Day 1.
Planned to meet all of them at Nelamangala Cross, it is about 35 kms from Bangalore.The meeting time was 6 am.
Met Vasanth at Metro at 530am and then proceeded to Nelamangala.
I had'n met Diwakar and Sai previously.
They came at 630am after getting lost while trying to get out of bangalore,
A brief Intro and we were off..
Started towards Tumkur which is 70 kms , and it was pretty cold,
Sachin had bought a Spine protector for Sujay , i asked him whether i could try it on My bike.He obliged.
After using it for about 80-100kms , my back started aching badly, It doesn get along well with the R15 position.
One misconception cleared, Ppl wear the spine protector such that their back is straight and doesn pain , But with an inclined position of R15 , its got no use , It actually hurts with the spine protector.You dont require a spine protector on r15 while touring , your back does not pain.
After about three hours of Riding on pretty ok roads , the bad bad roads started, From Kadur , the road starts worsening , There are potholes at every 20 m ,and mind you they are Craters ... Hugeeee
U cant avoid them , u have to go into it every single time.
It started getting hot as the sun came out,our speed reduced badly as the roads were bad until Shimoga , we reached Shimoga at Noon .
Found a place to have lunch , It had parking space . had a ok ok South Indian Meal and we had to get to Sagar which is 70 kms from Shimoga.
On the way to sagar we stopped for a few Pics.
We reached Sagar about 3:30 pm and checked into the room booked by Vasanth.
Had a shower and then headed towards some temple.
Vasanth said he had gone there last time , But he had forgotten the route :-P
We ended up going somewhere else :-D
Never the less , we went offroading a liitle and then met two kids from bangalore who were fascinated to see the R15.Clicked a few pics with them.
Headed back to the room and then we were waiting for Sujay and Rajat who were supposed to come from Mangalore .
they reached at about 8:30pm and we all went to the Restaurant to eat and drink and talk all possible topix ..
Got to know Diwakar and Sai better there :-P
Hit the bed at around 11 pm when the guy said he had to close the restaurant.
Day 2
My alarm rang at 5:15am, and kept my feet on the ground and damn , was crazy cold.woke up others in the 2 other rooms. Managed a hot water bath and i was ready 2 ride.
We Left the room by about 630 ish , and then headed towards sigandur. On the way we stopped for sunrise and few pics.
Sigandur is 30 kms from sagar, 30kms of bad roads , through villages.
On the way to sigandur, there is a water in between , Its a reservoir actually, to cross it u need to take the bike on the barge (In local terms , they call it Launch)
Loaded our 7 bikes onto it and we were off to sigandur.5 rs person and bike i guess.
Its run by the Inland Water and Fishery Dept.
Note: The first launch leaves at 7:30 am and last at 5:30 pm.
Plan ur ride accordingly if ur keen on going to sigandur.
We reached the other side in about 20 mins , The boat had a top speed of about 20kmph (GPS) :-P
From here Sigandur temple is about 5kms . Red roads totally ..Stones + everything..
It was two months since i got the bike and hadn't done a long trip,
Then came the ride to Shimoga-Sagar-Sigandur-Jog-Kollur-Maravanthe-Udupi-Mangalore-Bangalore.
Riders & their Ride
Vasanth(05 Karizma)
Diwakar(08- Karizma)
Sachin(05-P150)
Sai(07-Thunderbird)
Santoosh(08-R15)
From Mangalore
Sujay(07-P200)
Rajat(07-Dio)
Day 1.
Planned to meet all of them at Nelamangala Cross, it is about 35 kms from Bangalore.The meeting time was 6 am.
Met Vasanth at Metro at 530am and then proceeded to Nelamangala.
I had'n met Diwakar and Sai previously.
They came at 630am after getting lost while trying to get out of bangalore,
A brief Intro and we were off..
Started towards Tumkur which is 70 kms , and it was pretty cold,
Sachin had bought a Spine protector for Sujay , i asked him whether i could try it on My bike.He obliged.
After using it for about 80-100kms , my back started aching badly, It doesn get along well with the R15 position.
One misconception cleared, Ppl wear the spine protector such that their back is straight and doesn pain , But with an inclined position of R15 , its got no use , It actually hurts with the spine protector.You dont require a spine protector on r15 while touring , your back does not pain.
After about three hours of Riding on pretty ok roads , the bad bad roads started, From Kadur , the road starts worsening , There are potholes at every 20 m ,and mind you they are Craters ... Hugeeee
U cant avoid them , u have to go into it every single time.
It started getting hot as the sun came out,our speed reduced badly as the roads were bad until Shimoga , we reached Shimoga at Noon .
Found a place to have lunch , It had parking space . had a ok ok South Indian Meal and we had to get to Sagar which is 70 kms from Shimoga.
On the way to sagar we stopped for a few Pics.
We reached Sagar about 3:30 pm and checked into the room booked by Vasanth.
Had a shower and then headed towards some temple.
Vasanth said he had gone there last time , But he had forgotten the route :-P
We ended up going somewhere else :-D
Never the less , we went offroading a liitle and then met two kids from bangalore who were fascinated to see the R15.Clicked a few pics with them.
Headed back to the room and then we were waiting for Sujay and Rajat who were supposed to come from Mangalore .
they reached at about 8:30pm and we all went to the Restaurant to eat and drink and talk all possible topix ..
Got to know Diwakar and Sai better there :-P
Hit the bed at around 11 pm when the guy said he had to close the restaurant.
Day 2
My alarm rang at 5:15am, and kept my feet on the ground and damn , was crazy cold.woke up others in the 2 other rooms. Managed a hot water bath and i was ready 2 ride.
We Left the room by about 630 ish , and then headed towards sigandur. On the way we stopped for sunrise and few pics.
Sigandur is 30 kms from sagar, 30kms of bad roads , through villages.
On the way to sigandur, there is a water in between , Its a reservoir actually, to cross it u need to take the bike on the barge (In local terms , they call it Launch)
Loaded our 7 bikes onto it and we were off to sigandur.5 rs person and bike i guess.
Its run by the Inland Water and Fishery Dept.
Note: The first launch leaves at 7:30 am and last at 5:30 pm.
Plan ur ride accordingly if ur keen on going to sigandur.
We reached the other side in about 20 mins , The boat had a top speed of about 20kmph (GPS) :-P
From here Sigandur temple is about 5kms . Red roads totally ..Stones + everything..
Sunday, September 21, 2008
go green
A Sunday afteroon ,
not the time to be at home . Called Mrugesh , Vasanth ,Praveenkm to find out if they would be interested to join me to hesarghatta.
Got a red flag from all of them. so My cam , bike and me were on the move.
Left home, then headed to Bel circle , bad roads here. Then reached T Dasarahalli , where u need to take diversion to the right for HesarGhatta .From there on to my surprise, The road's been tarred , first time in so many years i could do three figures on this road , else previously always would be only 60-70kmph with odd tar road here and there.nice few sweeping curves also , This bike loves the curves.
Reached Hesarghatta , its 32kms from home.
A typical green view welcomed me , im more than happy coming here again and again , the land looks like savannah( - the tall grass).
There are 2 resorts here , Taj Kuteeram and Our Native Village.
And Nrityagram (dance institute) and a Film institute.
There are no Roads from the entrance the Greenery that welcomes u , The pic must give u an idea . The off roading is good.
Once it rains , its awesome.There are so many acres of land which is just there for u to enjoy , not one person coming to disturb u , not commercialised , Few ppl come in cars with family and have a picinc beneath the trees , its a pleasant weather most of the times.
Our Native Village is eco resort where in u get good breakfast , lunch , etc etc.
its a nice hangout , been there with frenz previously & loved it.
Parked the bike near the trees , relaxed down , put some music on and had a small nap.
Then left the place to head home The same route , there are other places around also that could be visited.
Madhure temple is worth a visit , another off-roading exp , but loaded with greenery , and u have a big lake to see.
There are other exit routes which get u to Yelahanka , RajanKunte(Dodballapur road),or u can head to Nelamangala after madhure temple.
Overall a 80 km ride , but the happiness was lots more gained .
the r15 is ok ok on bad roads , need to be real slow . else the back's gonna take a toss.
Its got a super stiff suspension , super hard.But still can manage.
And yeah the tyres r good on the tar , since they are track tires , on sand and off roading n slush , its a no no . it holds , but no so much confidence like my Ceat Vertigo would give on the Slush roads.
Thats Bout my sunday lazy afternoon .
not the time to be at home . Called Mrugesh , Vasanth ,Praveenkm to find out if they would be interested to join me to hesarghatta.
Got a red flag from all of them. so My cam , bike and me were on the move.
Left home, then headed to Bel circle , bad roads here. Then reached T Dasarahalli , where u need to take diversion to the right for HesarGhatta .From there on to my surprise, The road's been tarred , first time in so many years i could do three figures on this road , else previously always would be only 60-70kmph with odd tar road here and there.nice few sweeping curves also , This bike loves the curves.
Reached Hesarghatta , its 32kms from home.
A typical green view welcomed me , im more than happy coming here again and again , the land looks like savannah( - the tall grass).
There are 2 resorts here , Taj Kuteeram and Our Native Village.
And Nrityagram (dance institute) and a Film institute.
There are no Roads from the entrance the Greenery that welcomes u , The pic must give u an idea . The off roading is good.
Once it rains , its awesome.There are so many acres of land which is just there for u to enjoy , not one person coming to disturb u , not commercialised , Few ppl come in cars with family and have a picinc beneath the trees , its a pleasant weather most of the times.
Our Native Village is eco resort where in u get good breakfast , lunch , etc etc.
its a nice hangout , been there with frenz previously & loved it.
Parked the bike near the trees , relaxed down , put some music on and had a small nap.
Then left the place to head home The same route , there are other places around also that could be visited.
Madhure temple is worth a visit , another off-roading exp , but loaded with greenery , and u have a big lake to see.
There are other exit routes which get u to Yelahanka , RajanKunte(Dodballapur road),or u can head to Nelamangala after madhure temple.
Overall a 80 km ride , but the happiness was lots more gained .
the r15 is ok ok on bad roads , need to be real slow . else the back's gonna take a toss.
Its got a super stiff suspension , super hard.But still can manage.
And yeah the tyres r good on the tar , since they are track tires , on sand and off roading n slush , its a no no . it holds , but no so much confidence like my Ceat Vertigo would give on the Slush roads.
Thats Bout my sunday lazy afternoon .
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Yamaha YZF-R15( My First Small SuperBike)
Vasanth on the R15
Yamaha India's latest offering is the yzf r15, a 150 cc liquid cooled , 6 speed transmission , dual discs , r1 styling , monoshock at the rear , digital speedometer and all that gadgets.
Previously owned a pulsar 180 dts-i 04 model ,had been 4 years since i was riding the same thing , was more than satisfied with it ,did over a lac of kms as a student , but needed a change now , so was looking for a new bike , what options was i left with ?
zma/thunderbird/rtr fi/220/r15/fz150
These were the options that i had to choose between.
Zma and 220 were a no no to me , i love the zma , but wouldn buy a 5 year old bike which would be phased out anytime.plus compared to my old bike , i wouldn gain on power , would just be a refinement and handling upgrade.
220---i dint find it special , plus lacks something as refinement.its a straight line rocket. rest naaaaaaaaa...
thunderbird- would be a new segment , but for i wanted to get rid of the vibes thing , been with vibes for 4 years , wanted a change , i love low revving bike , doing 100 at 3800 rpm and super torque.
Im still young , the bullets technology is older than what i am only. so that also was called off , thought it was expensive for that technology .
RTR fi-
test rode the bike , rocks in the city , but on the highway hmmm not so impressive.
fi+rear disc+handling @ that price was a good deal no doubt .If a was a city rider , i would get rtr without second thoughts.
fz150
150 from yamaha , its not super fast or quick bike , just another 150 to beat the competition . nothing special in the bike .
r15
I dint want this bike honestly . Has all the goodies in it , but for a tourer i wasnt convinced , thought it wouldn perform well enough.
Had been to Bangalore wheels to ask about fz150 , just casually asked a person how much i would get selling the 180 . and in a few minutes , i ended up selling the bike immediately.
Booked the r15, black colour , chosen by my dad and girlfriend, and then did the waiting job ..
after a few days i got the delivery of the bike.It wasnt love at first sight and thing for me about the bike, the minute i got it in my hand , had issues
as soon as i started it and switched the light on , the Right side light went Kaput :-D
I was like , what an amazing start to a partnership this is.
Got the bike with a damaged heat shield , again had to fight with the showroom guys to get it replaced and losers got it out from another bike which had come to service.
Have managed to ride a 1000 kms now after getting it , dint write a review till now because it wouldn be fair commenting after 100 kms .
after 1000kms here i go
Engine-
Idles at 1400 rpm , redline at 10500 rpm.
Engine Made in Indonesia
Bike assembled here.
Diasil cylinder, forged piston and Liquid cooled 4 valve head . Its got all this for a 150 cc. wuf.
Engine is a class apart , no vibes from it at all , the engine sounds the same from idling to redline, doesnt get rough or vibes dont start to creep in from any rpm.
no problem with coldstarts or anything , just one small push and wakes up without any hassles.
FI unit
uses a Mikuni injector.smooth power delivery it offers and the metering is uniform throughout the range , hard to find a region with uneven metering.Pulls in 6th gear from 40 with ease. no problemo .
Handling and Braking
the best iv experienced on any small segment bike , it handles like a dream and im scared to ride the zma now whose handling is superb.
thats how addictive the handling is , if a newbie is riding the bike ,its like he doesn need to put any effort from his side to struggle to control.
its like flyin an f16 , one twich is all it requires to move.
braking from 120 to stop is just fabulous , u dont need to use engine braking , jus a little press on the brake and then u ll stop without any fishtail or any thing , stopping distance is super beautiful.
the discs used are both NISSIN.
Headlights
Just ok ok , rather im not happy about it , its all dc , has 2 35/35w bulbs , powered by a small 3.5ah battery . yes only 3.5 ah.Low beam only left side glows , high beam both the headlights come on.
Tail lamp used is a 21/5w bulb . no led on this .
the 3.5ah battery powers 70w of headlight + 5/21 w taillamp/brakelight+FI unit+cdi+fan+spark Plug+speedo+10 w pilot lamp+single horn+10 w indicator bulbs(*4).
to me thats amazing utilization of power.
Suspension
Its super stiff. Made with just the track and super flat road in mind .
Slightest of bad roads and the bike is pathetic. get ready for a bad back.front suspension is superb.
Rear is a link type monocross suspension , as per the weight it keeps self adjusting.
there is no hard or soft position on the rear mono shock like unicorn.
so need to adjust with stiff suspension which is actually bad in the city , slightest of hump u can feel .
Turning radius is a little more than i expected , u ll need to take a wider line than on the zma . may be cos of the handle bar.
Position and Riding Posture aint tiring for a long ride , did one and dint feel any problems . so its not bad as everyone expected it to be.
Most had written it off that its not a comfy position to tour . but No problems . can tour without any issues.
Its superbly aero dynamic , even at 120 plus u just dont feel the wind hitting u as much as on a zma , its upright on a zma .the front visor is superb for crouching , u just dont feel the speed at all.
Be it doing 130 kmph , u wont feel it until u see the speedo , thats refinement to u .People say there is no feel like the pulsar or the zma , come on , u get the feel on the pulsar because there is nothing as refinement on that.
at 60 its quiet , 70 u feel somethin , 90 ur feet's tickling , 110 ur mirrors are vibrating , 120 bike is totally crying.
130 god alone save it :-D
thats the case with pulsars, thats y u get the feel ,on this from idling to 130 , no difference at all.
Gearing & Gearbox
lower gears are short , meant for the city .5th and 6th are like my pulsar(v1).
on 5th it does about 130kmph , on shifting to 6th , the revs drop like crazy and its on super overdrive (.84) to be precise.
can do 100 all day long without knowing anything.
100 @ 6800rpm . ditto as my 180 v1.
Gearbox no comments at all . no False neutrals till date , super slick shifts up and down.
Fuel Efficiency
It returned about 38 with sane riding , doing 90 constant on the highway.
city no idea.
Riding in the city with this bike is bad , not enjoyable.its purely my opinion here.
Engine oil
20 W 40 yamalube
capacity -1litre
oil is good , im happy.
Coolant
380 ml
Power
Ppl always compare this bike to the 220 and the zma , i fail to understand why?
just cause it costs more than the the other two bikes?the bike is just a 150 cc bike.
the low end is just moderate, start to gain power from 3.5k rpm.
at about 6000 rpm there is a rush of power that carries on till 10500 rpm , it more like a well mannered two stroke , the characteristics change totally.
for me i treat this bike as a 150 cc only.
Actually the 150 cc are meant to be like this , since we are exposed to bikes like uni/pulsar150 with that kind of power ,this seems different.
Chain
Maintaing the O ring chain in the rain is the biggest headache , day to day lubrication is reqd during the rains.
No main stand makes it difficult to do it alone.
Chain Spray -> Motul (Cleaner+lube =850 rs hole in the pocket)
Tires
Small , but super grippy.No comments on that. lovely in rain too.
if u want a bigg tyre for looks , buy it , keep it at home , and keep looking at it . thats all i can tell ppl who always says its too small .
rtr is a 160 cc , comes with a 100/80 rear . for the cc of the bike , the size is apt.
the designers are not foolish to give the bike a special compund and size tubless tires.Its all in there for a purpose and reason .
BEING "Light weight , Fast bike" Thats all its designed for.Ppl fail to get that .
the gap between the rear wheel and the swing arm is about the thickness of my little finger.Thats the extent to which its been designed.
Ground Clearance is pretty low . doubles iv scraped the side stand so so many times.
The bike has been designed with on the rider in mind , what the rider when seated can see and feel is what has been kept in mind and designed.
the mirrors do not vibrate at any given speed.
the fibre quality is top notch , the finish and detailing level is amazing.
The speedo console
White Lcd display.
Rpm meter looks elegant.
the console contains 1 odo, 2 tripmeters, and another after reserve how many kms covered indicator.
The fuel gauge is pathetic , its in a world of its own , its like BSNL network , increases and decreases at it likes when the fuel is low ish.
when its full , its pretty accurate.
the white backlit speedo looks superb at night.
It lacks a clock like zma , which is really helpful thing to have.
Speedo has an error of about 5-7% .
indicated 140
true speed 131
Service and Knowledge about the Bike
This is the tricky part , new bike , how much knowledge do the service centre guys have about it ?
Honestly dint like the yamaha service , the guys have just been trained only till the first service, spares not available at present(spares prices pretty ok).
No handheld device to adjust the air/fuel ratio atleast . forget about reprogramming the ecu.
hope yam guys read this . Make me happy . Not too much of an ask.
Initially i dint like the bike so much , i appreciate it for the level of engineering and effort put into making it .the level of detailing is superb.Im happy owning it now.The bike is more of a quality product , than just being called a costly or an overpriced product.
Long review , but adjust maadi.
Any comments ,go on , always open to it.
Cheers
Santa
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
220 vs ZMA
Its the battle of the king vs the queen .
so many ppl have given their opinions , reviews and comments on the same topic before.So here's my take on it.
Its actually not a shoot out , but its the pros n cons or why you should and should not buy the bike.
im familiar with both the bikes as in to have ridden for over a period of time.
both the bikes are "premium products" thats what they call it.
lets hit the road --
The zma is the elegant beauty that u can find on the road . its five years old now , still does manage to grab attention of ppl once it goes past them .until its approaching you , you dont know that its comin ,its that quiet.
from the last 5 years there havent been any performance upgrades on this bike.
does it really need any ?
i think yes , needs a fuel injection system to get its fuel efficiency up . the rest is no pblmo...
its the boss of plastic bikes on the highway. can ride all day long on it , how many ever kms , any road conditions or even no road and not be a bit tired .. thats the beauty of this silent performer ... but u ll need deep pockets to keep this queen happy ..
220---
a welcome to just another pulsar???
a yes and a no ...
still got the typical pulsie characteristics (some things jus dont change)..
engine being rough , growling, high revving .. loaded with power..
but who needs all these when ur not happy @ the end of the day ?
its got the power to cruise at 110 all day long with ease , but the engine ... wuff cries its heart out askin u for a time out sort.
the NVH levels are way higher than what u expect when ur paying close to a lac.
its good for the young college lad to flaunt it with his group , but wont please u on comfort levels .
I'll keep the looks aside of both bikes as its personal taste ..wouldn comment on it.
both bikes are good in their own respect .
220 is loaded with all digital goodies , the zma doesn know what that means.
220 is the lord in braking , the zma is poor in braking , was also way behind compared to pulsars.
few aspects
braking- pulsar the clear winner.
fuel efficiency-zma doesn even qualify for this category.
handling- the zma wins hands down, the 220 is too soft on suspension.may be good in the city , but overall zma.the whole bike feels in one piece when cornering, however sharp,even if u run wide , u have the confidence to recover from it.
lighting and electricals - the zma stock 35/35w lamp is just a joke . the 220s 55w lamp is good.but the electricals on the bike is too complicated if anything breaks down. troubleshooting is a mess.both the bikes run on DC .
engine- the zma's cut and paste engine from the crf230 feels way refined than the 220. way quieter, revs very quickly and drops revs equally quicker and that too with the carb.
the 220 hmmmmm.... thinks twice before doing anythin ,lazy to respond. but packs more punch than the zma.the fi helps to pull it from any speed , its more torquey.
speed- the 220 is the clear winner.has a better top whack.doesn lose power when u are two up.
the zma does manage to be in the sight of the 220 although bein 3bhp lesser than the 220. it manages to eat up the lost distance while cornering.
overall- if u have the moolah and want to flaunt it and u ride more in the city ,the 220 is the answer.it has all the goodies , but not refined at all . its like very raw , not polished.the riding stance is sporty and agressive, asks to be pushed harder.vibes start after about 90-95 and the bikes mirrors are useless , jus helps u to read whats written on ur jacket.
zma on the other hand is calm , relaxed ,doesn seem to be hamperd by competition, its a true highway machine , difficult to ride in the city.if u dont bother about the fuel efficieny and the horribly priced spares , this is the bike for u.
its a sofa on two wheels.u ll be left with energy to watch a movie after a 500km ride .has a huge speedo error after 100, jus shoots like its got a nos kick , good to fool the pillion. overall a close to perfect bike , need to learn the braking art on it during panic braking . engine breaking not as effective as pulsars.(long stroke enjin remember )
my take-- both bikes are good . id still go in for the zma , being second still makes me a winner.
santa
so many ppl have given their opinions , reviews and comments on the same topic before.So here's my take on it.
Its actually not a shoot out , but its the pros n cons or why you should and should not buy the bike.
im familiar with both the bikes as in to have ridden for over a period of time.
both the bikes are "premium products" thats what they call it.
lets hit the road --
The zma is the elegant beauty that u can find on the road . its five years old now , still does manage to grab attention of ppl once it goes past them .until its approaching you , you dont know that its comin ,its that quiet.
from the last 5 years there havent been any performance upgrades on this bike.
does it really need any ?
i think yes , needs a fuel injection system to get its fuel efficiency up . the rest is no pblmo...
its the boss of plastic bikes on the highway. can ride all day long on it , how many ever kms , any road conditions or even no road and not be a bit tired .. thats the beauty of this silent performer ... but u ll need deep pockets to keep this queen happy ..
220---
a welcome to just another pulsar???
a yes and a no ...
still got the typical pulsie characteristics (some things jus dont change)..
engine being rough , growling, high revving .. loaded with power..
but who needs all these when ur not happy @ the end of the day ?
its got the power to cruise at 110 all day long with ease , but the engine ... wuff cries its heart out askin u for a time out sort.
the NVH levels are way higher than what u expect when ur paying close to a lac.
its good for the young college lad to flaunt it with his group , but wont please u on comfort levels .
I'll keep the looks aside of both bikes as its personal taste ..wouldn comment on it.
both bikes are good in their own respect .
220 is loaded with all digital goodies , the zma doesn know what that means.
220 is the lord in braking , the zma is poor in braking , was also way behind compared to pulsars.
few aspects
braking- pulsar the clear winner.
fuel efficiency-zma doesn even qualify for this category.
handling- the zma wins hands down, the 220 is too soft on suspension.may be good in the city , but overall zma.the whole bike feels in one piece when cornering, however sharp,even if u run wide , u have the confidence to recover from it.
lighting and electricals - the zma stock 35/35w lamp is just a joke . the 220s 55w lamp is good.but the electricals on the bike is too complicated if anything breaks down. troubleshooting is a mess.both the bikes run on DC .
engine- the zma's cut and paste engine from the crf230 feels way refined than the 220. way quieter, revs very quickly and drops revs equally quicker and that too with the carb.
the 220 hmmmmm.... thinks twice before doing anythin ,lazy to respond. but packs more punch than the zma.the fi helps to pull it from any speed , its more torquey.
speed- the 220 is the clear winner.has a better top whack.doesn lose power when u are two up.
the zma does manage to be in the sight of the 220 although bein 3bhp lesser than the 220. it manages to eat up the lost distance while cornering.
overall- if u have the moolah and want to flaunt it and u ride more in the city ,the 220 is the answer.it has all the goodies , but not refined at all . its like very raw , not polished.the riding stance is sporty and agressive, asks to be pushed harder.vibes start after about 90-95 and the bikes mirrors are useless , jus helps u to read whats written on ur jacket.
zma on the other hand is calm , relaxed ,doesn seem to be hamperd by competition, its a true highway machine , difficult to ride in the city.if u dont bother about the fuel efficieny and the horribly priced spares , this is the bike for u.
its a sofa on two wheels.u ll be left with energy to watch a movie after a 500km ride .has a huge speedo error after 100, jus shoots like its got a nos kick , good to fool the pillion. overall a close to perfect bike , need to learn the braking art on it during panic braking . engine breaking not as effective as pulsars.(long stroke enjin remember )
my take-- both bikes are good . id still go in for the zma , being second still makes me a winner.
santa
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Long long time....
Here i am ....
Can Actually say back from hiberbation.
A new look , new hair style , a new me!
Done a few rides recently
ooty , tirupati,coorg, kemmangundi..
bought new gadgets ..
things going on smoothly,
dint have the time/mood to update this space , will do so now on
santa
Can Actually say back from hiberbation.
A new look , new hair style , a new me!
Done a few rides recently
ooty , tirupati,coorg, kemmangundi..
bought new gadgets ..
things going on smoothly,
dint have the time/mood to update this space , will do so now on
santa
Monday, December 10, 2007
Safe Riding and Touring Exercise Workshop
Hi Fellow riders,
As we all know, riding is more like music and no body is perfect in this art.
As a part of our ongoing effort to improve ourselves, a few like minded friends met on Saturday evening over "1/2 kaapi" and discussed ways to improve ourselves.
All of us were of a single opinion that we needed to improve and improve for better with a proper "Guru" to train us.
We were able to locate a trained "Safety Rider" who was trained by instructors from Japanese riding schools. He has volunteered to help us out in our endeavour to improve our selves. We were excited to hear the same from him.
This 3-4 hour program is tentatively scheduled to be held in Bangalore in the second or third week end of Jan'08. A nominal fee of Rs. One hundred has been fixed for each trainee and the session is limited for a few.It's a corporate sponsored program by one of the bike manufacturers for safety awareness and learning riding techniques like panic braking, effective cornering, rain riding etc..Also not only for amatures, even experienced riders can hone their skills and get their skills to the new level!!!
You could drop your requests in the comments section of the blog & please mention the following details in it too
Full name:
Bike Make & Model :
Mobile number:
Email id:
We are confident that you would not be disappointed with the outcome of this Training program.
Monday, November 26, 2007
record... as the name says , i did it
this is how i write my record
aim:to complete the record
theory:writing a record is a pain , so let somebody else face the pain , i will eat the cake..and drawing , thats one thing that im amazing , nobody understands what i draw , i always wondered y ???
Procedure:
1.go to some nice girl
(nice means good handwriting , neatness, up to date with all expts done and written )
when i said nice i dint mean
(a hot chick , whose got an amzing phsyique , great sense of dressing , lovely perfume n n n... slurp slurp....)
u dirty mind... what all u think wen i say nice...
bk 2 record
2.plead her 4 the record... she ll say no no i need 2 study from it ( hell yeah ,examz are two months away )
3.say oh k politely... n say 2 mins oly , will give it bk...
4.open the book to the page u need 2 write
5. align it well, check for appropriate light.
6. slowly take the camera out , set the camera in auto mode , and enable macro mode
and show ur skills to the world
7. clik
8. more clik
9. different angle click
10. give her a big smile , close the book.
11.Make sure all the graphs are also clicked well.. else u may not get the desired output.
12.make use of the paste command that u have always used.
13.show it to the teacher before that girl gets her record corrected..
Result:
the desired marks were obtained and she tells the whole class to learn to be like me
:-D
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Cheeni Kum Hai ....life's like that
I hadn watched any new movie for a long time ,so pickd up about 4 movies , of which one was CHEENI KUM ,i aint any big fan of amitabh bachchan, but neither have anything against him ..
as always alone at home ,got some pop corn , a quilt , ligths off n there i was watching the muvee... all alone at home at 11pm ...
story bout an arrogant man , hehe jus like me , and a cool chillax girl teaching him , or rather pullin him down , n he realising what its all about .. its a simple story , nothing out of this world , but its presented very well , ilaiyiraja , a wonderful musician , although i haven heard a lot of his work , but from what iv got 2 hear and heard , he s real good at his job ..
the best part of the movie was the child actress Swini Khara , amazing acting from her , total bindaas , chillax acting ..
gotta live life like that .. taking things the way it come , khaane ka , peene ka , aur mast life jeene ka...
some part of the muvee gets lil stupid , but i like it over all , real refresher,no much stylin make up n all that jinga stuffs... as simple as it can get , i like it that way..
watch the muvee if u find time.
wont regret
santa
as always alone at home ,got some pop corn , a quilt , ligths off n there i was watching the muvee... all alone at home at 11pm ...
story bout an arrogant man , hehe jus like me , and a cool chillax girl teaching him , or rather pullin him down , n he realising what its all about .. its a simple story , nothing out of this world , but its presented very well , ilaiyiraja , a wonderful musician , although i haven heard a lot of his work , but from what iv got 2 hear and heard , he s real good at his job ..
the best part of the movie was the child actress Swini Khara , amazing acting from her , total bindaas , chillax acting ..
gotta live life like that .. taking things the way it come , khaane ka , peene ka , aur mast life jeene ka...
some part of the muvee gets lil stupid , but i like it over all , real refresher,no much stylin make up n all that jinga stuffs... as simple as it can get , i like it that way..
watch the muvee if u find time.
wont regret
santa
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Ranganathittu Revisited
16 th june ,
saturday morning ..
bike nomads guys plan a ride to ride to ranganthittu bird sanctuary.
friday afternoon i open up my bike thinking that its just an hours job that i can fix it back n be ready 4 the ride ...
to my as usual , its a mess..
bike not ready , its ten pm , m on hosur road... stranded..
i call for rescue...
tring tring.. hello Mrugesh , Santa here , kya kar raha hai . M says office mein yaar , S: bike screwd , come pick me yaar..
ok i ll be ther in bout half n hour ..
he comes , picks me , we get bk home ,n its bout 1130 , then on call n etc etc ,its 1am alraedy .. n supposed 2 go 4 a ride at 530 .. gr8 ..
vasanth comes n picks me up at my place at bout 6 .
Scene 2: sachin , venkat shyam & chamoli waiting at Rajarajeshwari ngr arch..
we fill petrol n finally reach the meeting point at 645..
then on proceed 2 shivalli MTR restaurant 7kms after channapatna ,next 2 the coffee day ..
i was pillion on vasanths zma , venkat shyam - eliminator, sachin p 150 , chamoli-avenger..
the whole breakfast talk was just about P220...
it was jus the beginning ,
then we spoke bout Toyota , honda , HH , Bajaj , tvs n wot not...
then sachin hopped on pillion on vasanths zma , me was riding the p150..
after bout 40 kms , sachin n vaas stoppd 4 a smoke , then bk on road , i was riding the zma , with vaas as pillion touched 125 plus without crouching , good 4 a 33k zma ..
then reached ranganthittu at bout 930 ..
venkat sir n us took a snap under the banyan tree ( which incidentally is his symbol)
n then talks bout FI
then we guys went on a boat ride ..
n birds????? whats that..
oly 3 varieties this season..
painted stalk
open beak stalk n
one more god nose what the hell bird(sorry bird lovers)
then on we went 2 venkat shyams relatives place which is jus 2kms from there..
wow it was an old ancestral house ..
well maintainedd. had lunch there( amazing hospitality there) hats off venkat sir..
n on the house terrace
sat n had more talks bout bikes n bikes n scooters tht came , saw , stayed n went...
from ther i hopped on venkats eliminator, next pit stop maddur coffee day ..
was jus 2 when we reachd ther ..
sat n spoke n argued n ate well till 430 ..
amazing weather that day.. not a ray of sunlight , nor a drop of rain..
jus pleasant weather al thru the day..
rode bk from there 2 bangalore non stop..
went n picked up my bike from hosur road , n by the tym bk it was close 2 ten..
good memorable day..
liked it..
santa
saturday morning ..
bike nomads guys plan a ride to ride to ranganthittu bird sanctuary.
friday afternoon i open up my bike thinking that its just an hours job that i can fix it back n be ready 4 the ride ...
to my as usual , its a mess..
bike not ready , its ten pm , m on hosur road... stranded..
i call for rescue...
tring tring.. hello Mrugesh , Santa here , kya kar raha hai . M says office mein yaar , S: bike screwd , come pick me yaar..
ok i ll be ther in bout half n hour ..
he comes , picks me , we get bk home ,n its bout 1130 , then on call n etc etc ,its 1am alraedy .. n supposed 2 go 4 a ride at 530 .. gr8 ..
vasanth comes n picks me up at my place at bout 6 .
Scene 2: sachin , venkat shyam & chamoli waiting at Rajarajeshwari ngr arch..
we fill petrol n finally reach the meeting point at 645..
then on proceed 2 shivalli MTR restaurant 7kms after channapatna ,next 2 the coffee day ..
i was pillion on vasanths zma , venkat shyam - eliminator, sachin p 150 , chamoli-avenger..
the whole breakfast talk was just about P220...
it was jus the beginning ,
then we spoke bout Toyota , honda , HH , Bajaj , tvs n wot not...
then sachin hopped on pillion on vasanths zma , me was riding the p150..
after bout 40 kms , sachin n vaas stoppd 4 a smoke , then bk on road , i was riding the zma , with vaas as pillion touched 125 plus without crouching , good 4 a 33k zma ..
then reached ranganthittu at bout 930 ..
venkat sir n us took a snap under the banyan tree ( which incidentally is his symbol)
n then talks bout FI
then we guys went on a boat ride ..
n birds????? whats that..
oly 3 varieties this season..
painted stalk
open beak stalk n
one more god nose what the hell bird(sorry bird lovers)
then on we went 2 venkat shyams relatives place which is jus 2kms from there..
wow it was an old ancestral house ..
well maintainedd. had lunch there( amazing hospitality there) hats off venkat sir..
n on the house terrace
sat n had more talks bout bikes n bikes n scooters tht came , saw , stayed n went...
from ther i hopped on venkats eliminator, next pit stop maddur coffee day ..
was jus 2 when we reachd ther ..
sat n spoke n argued n ate well till 430 ..
amazing weather that day.. not a ray of sunlight , nor a drop of rain..
jus pleasant weather al thru the day..
rode bk from there 2 bangalore non stop..
went n picked up my bike from hosur road , n by the tym bk it was close 2 ten..
good memorable day..
liked it..
santa
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
wanna wanna wanna clik
nikon d 40 ,
sis got it frm her frend in japan ,
its a slr ,iv fallen for it in all possible ways ,
its a 6.1 meg n got all the goodies ,
m amazed at the lightning speed at which it cliks the snaps , it doesn let u miss a AA or a oh or uh expression , its that fast ,
n each pic u clik , it makes u happy 2 the core ,
its neat , well built , decent battery , a gig of memory ,
all u need nw is the road , the location , n the lil beast ,
will take some pics of it n post it ,
i would love to own something like this some day i start to earn ..
nw jus happy with what evr iv got
cheers
santa
sis got it frm her frend in japan ,
its a slr ,iv fallen for it in all possible ways ,
its a 6.1 meg n got all the goodies ,
m amazed at the lightning speed at which it cliks the snaps , it doesn let u miss a AA or a oh or uh expression , its that fast ,
n each pic u clik , it makes u happy 2 the core ,
its neat , well built , decent battery , a gig of memory ,
all u need nw is the road , the location , n the lil beast ,
will take some pics of it n post it ,
i would love to own something like this some day i start to earn ..
nw jus happy with what evr iv got
cheers
santa
Monday, May 14, 2007
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
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